Recently visitor numbers to South Africa have slumped ever since the end of the World Cup, according to many different tour operators. Frances Geoghegan, the managing director of Africa Travel, said that holiday bookings for August fell by about 20 to 30 percent compared to the same month last year. This is a trend that she went on to blame on high air fares and post World Cup perceptions that South Africa is very expensive. However, most hotels just jacked up their price in order to take advantage of the World Cup.

Ms Geoghegan said that, after the World Cup, people did a lot of promotion and said they were discounting. However, it just has not worked out for South Africa. Due to things like poor exchange rates and high air fares South Africa is not a budget destination anymore. On top of all of this, the fact that some hotels have been trying to rip off tourists has not helped South Africa’s image.

Recent figures that came out just this past week have also been pointing to a decline in visitors. According to the Post Office’s annual summer report, sales of South Africa in June, July and August fell by 26 percent when compared to the same time last year.

The head of travel money at the Post Office, Sarah Munro, suggested that fears about a post World Cup price hike, coupled with poor exchange rates, were the reason behind this big fall in South Africa. Sterling buys 10 percent less rand than it did a year ago, and on top of that, it buys 20 percent less than what it did in 2008. People are getting less bang for their money.